Page 3 of Courting Mayhem

“When a man becomes a warrior, he plaits his hair.”

The kid pointed at my braid. “Is she a warrior too?”

“She is.”

The kid’s mother grabbed him. “I’m so sorry. Thank you for your service.”

“It was my honor,” Poppa Jacob said with a slight bow.

“Me want popcorn,” the kid yelled.

“Of course, you do,” the kid’s mother groused and led him away.

I smiled up at my father. “Ready to take the Doom Buggy for a spooky tour of the unearthly realm?”

“I am.”

We took our place in the line. Tiny ants danced across my mind. Huh? A threat was nearby. I casually looked around. To my surprise a big, muscle-bound older human male had joined the line. I loved the way his black tee-shirt clung to his heavily muscled chest. His jeans accentuated his very fine ass. Weird. He didn’t have any children with him, and he didn’t seem the type to enjoy theme park rides. Plus, his psychic powers were off the charts and his demeanor was that of a soldier on a high-risk mission. Was he the guy from the transporter platform? I studied his aura. Yep, he was. At least I now knew his face matched the rest of him. Goddess, why did he have to be so incredibly good looking? I had a thing for high cheekbones, firm jaws, and a sensual mouth. Other than his age, he was my dream man come to life. Could he be one of the infamous Coletti hybrids? Possibly, but he wore his black hair in a short military cut. All the Coletti males I had seen had long hair with warrior braids. “See the big male at the back of the line?”

“Yes. He has been tailing us for the last ten minutes,”Poppa Jacob answered.

Ballock’s balls. I had let my excitement interfere with my vigilance. “His aura matches the soldier at the transporter platform.”

“He’s a Central Command hunter,”Poppa Jacob growled.

“Let’s make his day memorable with the number of rides we go on.”

Poppa Jacob grinned.“An excellent idea.”

The haunted house was so much fun we took the tour three times. I laughed at the annoyed expression on our stalker’s face.

“I would say our hunter isn’t a fan of the Magic Kingdom,” Poppa said.

“I think he’s used to being in charge and spending the day trudging around Magic Kingdom is beneath him. Let’s see how he likes pirates.” Poppa and I got on a barge. Sure enough the hunter showed up. Unfortunately for him, all the seats were taken, and he was forced to wait.

I threw him a kiss as we drifted away.

His jaws clenched.

“Do not provoke him,” Poppa Jacob instructed.

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“You know how angry Sten gets when he has to bail us out of jail.”

“We haven’t done anything to be arrested for, but if he tries, I’ll kick his ass. An old guy like him probably hasn’t kept his fighting skills up,” I replied.

Poppa Jacob gave me a look. “I’m his age.”

“Oh.” Crap. “Really? You look so much younger than him.”

“Nice try and my fighting skills haven’t suffered because of my advanced age.”

Whoops. Poppa Jacob was forty-three. He was my age when he was captured by the Tai-Kok. His hair turned silver after he was forced to watch his wife and child being slaughtered. “Nope, you’re still a mean sonovabitch.”

Poppa Jacob grunted.

We floated down a shadowy bayou where we were entertained by the dead men guarding their treasure. I loved the cannon fire between a fort and a 12-gun galleon. “Kinda reminds you of a space battle.”

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